


Dream A Little Dream Of Me

by OhNoHello



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Dreams, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28906092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhNoHello/pseuds/OhNoHello
Summary: Zagreus keeps seeing Hypnos, running through his dreams.
Relationships: Hypnos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 180





	Dream A Little Dream Of Me

**Author's Note:**

> it's just fluff all the way down lads

The flowers in the field had grown high and towered over Zagreus’ head. They swayed in a gentle breeze, moving as one, looking more like weeds beneath the waves. Dancing to a beat Zagreus couldn't hear.

Zagreus walked among the stems, so thick that they might have been tree trunks. A forest of flora. They crackled like branches in a gentle breeze and yet Zagreus couldn't hear them. Just beyond the canopy of multi colored petals was a yellowed sky singed with sunshine. Although Zagreus couldn't see a sun. 

He trudged forward, a funny sort of anxiety tingling in his chest as he tried to get where he was going. The destination was unknown, but he just knew he had to get there. It was important that he get to his destination and urgency built within him. 

Zagreus dug his foot into the muddy dirt and he pushed forward in an attempt to break into a run. The key word being attempt. His legs strained against the resistance, pushing like a horse, but he got nowhere. Each step slowed him down more and more until he ran in place. His legs and body moved in slow motions through the thick sludge that the air had become. 

The desperation to get to this unknown location, to where he needed to be, grew and he could feel a whine build in his throat. He panted, his breathing picking up with dread and anxiety, a panic welling in his throat. A hiss strained on his breath. 

That niggling anxiety built like an avalanche until it buried him.

"You sure are going nowhere fast." 

Instantly, the panic died away. Zagreus stopped trying and felt the invisible hold on him let go. His focus went elsewhere, the desire and urgency slipping off him. He looked up into the flower trees to see a figure floating among the large fan-like leaves. 

Hypnos hung in the sky, his legs pulled up and his elbows resting on his knees. His blanket floated around him, shifting like ocean waves, up and down and up again. Like the fin of a cuttlefish as it fluttered slowly around him. 

He danced his fingers in the air. 

“Hi,” he said. 

“Hey Hypnos,” Zagreus said, a smile cutting across his face. 

“What ‘cha doing?” Hypnos asked. 

“Running,” Zagreus said. 

“Really?” Hypnos cocked his head to the side. “Cause it sure doesn’t look like it.” 

“Well I’m trying to.” 

Hypnos hummed and leaned forward, almost resting his elbows on the air as if there was a solid object for him to do so. 

“Have you tried moving forward?” he asked. 

“Yes!” Zagreus said, exasperated. 

“Well you sure aren’t trying hard enough,” Hypnos said with a cock of his head. 

Zagreus let his arms flop uselessly to his sides and gave Hypnos a bland look. 

Hypnos inspected Zagreus, looking him up and down and Zagreus stood up a little straight. Under Hypnos’ scrutiny he felt the desire to impress all the more stronger. He smiled and propped his fists at his hips, decided that was too strange and folded them across his chest, until finally decided to drop them by his sides. 

“Your middle is missing,” Hypnos finally said. 

“What?” 

Hypnos pointed down. 

“Your middle,” he said. “Its missing.” 

Zagreus looked down at his body. His traitorous legs were there, sure, as was the chest he just crossed over and the arms he couldn’t quite figure out what to do with. But sure enough, the part in between was invisible. With a jolt of panic and a deep breath, Zagreus smacked the space, fully expecting his hand to swing through it, but instead it hit solid stomach. He slapped it a few more times until finally he filled in. 

He breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“You just weren’t thinking about it I guess,” Hypnos said. “Must not be all that important to you.” 

“It is,” Zagreus insisted. 

“If you say so,” Hypnos said with a little half shoulder shrug. “I believe you. Also you’re glowing.” 

Zagreus felt heat prickle his face, shoulders, knuckles, all the strange places where he shouldn’t be blushing. His stomach felt the same warmth now that he was aware of it. The brightness of his body sparkled in his periphery, heating up to match the burn of his feet. 

Hypnos’ smile grew and Zagreus knew he was glowing all the more. 

“It suits you,” Hypnos said. 

Zagreus beamed. Literally. 

Hypnos leaned down and held out his hands. 

“Want some help?” he asked. 

Zagreus looked to the long fingered outstretched hands. They wriggled as they waited, enticing Zagreus to take them. Hypnos was not normally one to offer physical help. Snarky advice, sure, but he’d never lend a hand. Zagreus eyed them with suspicion, not wanting to let the opportunity pass him by. 

He took Hypnos’ hands. 

Zagreus didn’t know what he was expecting. The usual warmth of a god or the chilled cool of a shade. Instead, whatever the sensation, it was secondary to the mere act of holding them that it went completely unnoticed. 

Gripping with a gentle strength, Hypnos rose up into the air, dragging Zagreus with him. They shot up, travelling with roller coaster like speed that drifted like a dandelion seed on the wind. A balloon filled with helium that rocketed up the stems of the flower forest. They broke through the petal canopy into the air, Hypnos first, followed by Zagreus shortly after. 

He floated in the air for a moment, reaching the apex of their arc, and matching Hypnos’ height. Zagreus laughed, looking down at the ground beneath him. A sea of colors, of yellows and pinks and blues, all glowing in the sunlight of unknown source. 

“I’m flying!” he said. 

“Not quite,” Hypnos said and gravity dragged Zagreus back down. A gentle waft, descending several feet from where he was, back through the petals and into the shade of the forest floor. “More like floating.” 

“Close enough,” Zagreus said. He landed, bending his knees, and pushed off the ground again. 

Up they flew, or floated, higher than the last time. Zagreus, controlling the speed, had pushed off faster than Hypnos had dragged him, and managed to hover over Hypnos that time. 

“Where are you trying to go?” Hypnos asked as Zagreus hit the ground again. 

Zagreus shot up, picking up speed, into the air. He looked out over the great sea of flowers, a ripple waving through them in the wind. It seemingly went on forever, the flower tops blurring into a golden haze that kissed yellow sky. Zagreus could barely tell where the worlds met. 

He swiveled his head, looking for the destination he knew was out there. 

“There!” he called out with a jerk of his chin, not wanting to let go of Hypnos’ hands. 

There was a little cottage, a lopsided shack that looked only big enough for one room. It swayed in time with the flowers, creaking in the breeze. It sat atop a sloping hill, backed by the brilliance of the midday sky. It was a structure that looked so familiar to Zagreus, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. 

Just looking at it made Zagreus tired. It was so far away. But if he was one thing, it was determined. 

Together they floated back beyond the petals. 

“Okay then,” Hypnos said, clipped and businesslike. “Lets go that way.” 

They shifted in the direction of the cottage, moving like cars on a train. Their hands functioned like coupling joints, Hypnos’ shifting behind him, Zagreus ahead, zig zagging before they righted themselves again. 

Down and then up and then down again, they hopped in long lazy arcs through the forest of flowers, going higher and higher each time to match Zagreus’ enthusiasm. They weren’t getting any closer to the cottage, but it didn’t seem to matter. 

Zagreus’ focus was on Hypnos. He laughed and laughed, looking at that sleepy serene expression and those heavy lidded golden eyes. How he floated above Zagreus in the dark under the petals and below when Zagreus would jump too hard and fly high above. 

Hypnos was glowing. 

With a willful smile, Zagreus pressed hard against the ground. As he leapt, he went far faster than he had intended. An out of control elevator that made his heart drop into his still visible stomach. The vice like grip Hypnos had on Zagreus’ hands wasn’t enough to hold on and the god of sleep was left scrambling at empty air in a futile attempt to catch him before he floated away. 

Zagreus drifted up into the sky, falling into the yellow expanse, ass first and staring down at Hypnos as he grew smaller and smaller. 

“I’m sorry Zagreus!” Hypnos called out, hands cupping around his mouth. 

“Thats okay!” Zagreus called back down, waving one arm. 

Hypnos seemed to take his word for it and even from that distance he could see the soft smile on Hypnos’ face. 

Zagreus decided he might as well enjoy the trip while he was on it. Inertia kept him moving like a rock falling in the wrong direction. He watched the ground below him descend, watched the curve of the earth become more pronounced. The little cottage almost disappeared completely, swallowed up by the color of flowers that all blurred into a kaleidoscopic mass. He could still make out where Hypnos was. 

Soon he’d puncture through the curtain of the sky and would fall through space and stars. Not a bad way to live all in all. 

Hypnos’ smile faded slowly. His eyes widened and Zagreus could see them shine like golden coins. Concern masked over his expression. 

For just a moment, Zagreus wasn’t sure what there was to be concerned about. 

Then gravity kicked in. 

Zagreus dropped back to the earth, hurtling with all the affection of an angered meteor. His stomach lurched until it was gone again. His heart hit the back of his ribs. The air was knocked out of him. 

He fell. 

Hypnos ran forward, shedding his blanket behind him, arms out wide as if to catch Zagreus.

Zagreus’ back hit his bed and he bounced directly up to sitting. He sucked in a deep gasp of air and held his chest, trying to catch his breath. He huffed and swallowed, his throat feeling raw and cold. He looked around the darkened din of his room and caught the night sky twinkle of the mirror Nyx had given him. His wide eyed reflected gaped back at him. 

A dream. It had been a dream. Only a dream. 

Zagreus took in one last shaking breath. He let the hand on his chest slowly settle down at his side and leaned back on his elbows. Already, the details were fading away, but he could remember flowers and Hypnos. He could remember flying. . . floating. . . no it was flying. 

Zagreus flopped back onto his bed and pulled his blanket up to his chin, hoping he’d be able to slip back into the dream. 

____

Dead again, Zagreus woke up in the Pool of Styx. He sunk like a stone, as if someone had dropped him into the bloodied water. The force of being murdered knocking him down into the murk, as if Meg had chucked him in there herself. 

Well. She pretty much did. 

He would think by that point beating the furies was just a matter of going through the motions, do as he had done so many times before, but Zagreus had signed that damned Pact of Punishment. It had given Meg an edge, just a smidge more strength than her normal fair. It was enough to tip the scales. But she didn't have to enjoy it so gods damned much. 

Sadist. 

It took a moment for Zagreus to acclimate and he twisted in the depths, kicking his legs to the surface. The strain of holding his breath began to tickle his lungs and Zagreus gave a large stroke to finish his emergence. It wouldn’t do for him to drown in the Pool of Styx only to resurrect in the Pool of Styx. Again. He’d just get mocked.

Zagreus broke through the surface with a large gulp of air and shook out his hair. He tread the water for a moment, watching the bustle of the house, and saw his favorite tormentor. 

Hypnos, as he usually was, was fast asleep. He floated in the air, just inches above the chaise that Zagreus had bought for him. Every so often, Hypnos’ float would bob up and down and he’d just barely touch down on the plethora of pillows that had been spread out in his honor. He curled up on his side, his long legs coiled into a deceptive ball, only half tucked in the blanket that flowed around him like a satellite.

He snored and it echoed off the walls. 

Zagreus smiled, watching Hypnos slumber, and allowed himself a moment of rest to enjoy it. 

With a small _’hup’_ Zagreus swam to the Pool’s steps and climbed out. He ran a hand through his hair and felt the blood pool at his feet. The shades perpetually waiting in the stalled line glanced back at their prince and parted to the side to let him go, patient and content to mill about in the hallway. Zagreus gave a quick sprint through the part in the crowd, leaving behind a streak of bloody water, and skidded to a halt in front of Hypnos. 

“Huh! What!?” Hypnos shouted, eyes bulging open and pen flying in the air. “I’m up! I’m up!” 

The feathered pen danced in the air and Hypnos grasped for it. It bounced from his fingertips but he managed to catch it on the second try. Breathing a sigh of relief he relaxed back into his floating sit and looked sleepy and cross eyed at his pen. Slowly, his eyes slid to Zagreus. The glacial smile that grew across his face fluttered Zagreus’ heart. 

“Died again then?” Hypnos said. 

“I couldn’t help it,” Zagreus said with a shrug. 

“You could if you tried,” Hypnos said behind a big yawn, tears of drowsiness forming at the corners of his eyes. He inspected the sheet in front of him. “Meg again huh? I would think you’d be old hat at beating her by now, but what do I know?” 

Zagreus had never been annoyed by the almost mocking tone Hypnos had, long since figuring out that there was never any malice behind it. 

“Its the blasted Pact of Punishment,” Zagreus complained. “She gets a big boost from everything in the damn contract.” 

“Well you signed up for it.” Hypnos leaned forward and tapped the end of Zagreus’ nose with his feather. “Literally.” 

Zagreus scrunched up his nose at the tickle, but made no move to get away. He laughed at the sensation. 

It was at that point in the conversation where Zagreus said his goodbyes, dashed around the house to greet everyone else, including his father, maybe poke his head into the Administrative Chamber, give a pep talk, look into the Lounge, buy some more renovations with his hard earned gemstones. 

But instead he strayed. 

“I dreamed about you last night,” he said without thinking. 

Hypnos’ brows rose in amusement. 

“How embarrassing for you,” he said. “Normally people keep that kind of thing to themselves.”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Zagreus said. “I only mean, you were in my dream. There was. . . flowers and. . . a shack.” 

Trying to recall the details was like picking up a shallow puddle of water that had long since spilled. 

“What kind of dream was this?” Hypnos laughed sitting back in the air. 

“A good one,” Zagreus said with a smile. 

Hypnos had nothing to say to that. That lazy smile spread wider, transforming into something genuine. 

Zagreus hopped in place and gave a little wave, looking over his shoulder as he headed to the West Wing. 

“Well, I’m off!” he said. “Take care Hypnos.” 

Hypnos was slow to react, but as Zagreus turned the corner, he saw Hypnos raise his hand in a slow wave. 

____

Zagreus’ heart raced and his legs couldn't keep up. He ran through the pitch, taking twists and turns in a labyrinth he couldn’t see. High walls that were invisible to him, shifting like shadows in black, and yet he managed to take every turn, just shy of crashing. He gasped for breath, a whine in the back of his throat. Tears hit hot behind his eyes and threatened to fall. He needed to get away. He needed to go faster. 

It was never fast enough. 

“Zagreus,” the voice filled with love called. “Zagreus, my dear, please come back.” 

It was tempting to turn around and run home to loving arms. To bury himself in comfort. 

Comfort was not to be found. Not in that cold dark place. 

Zagreus sobbed and took another sharp turn. His arms windmilled as he almost lost his balance, feet ice cold and sliding across the marble floors. The air was knocked out of him, as if he had been gut checked. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see. 

He could only run. 

“Zagreus,” the voice boomed, saying his name in a sing song. The sound rang loud enough to make his vision double. It bounced around in his skull. It turned the air thick, made it harder to breathe, harder to run. 

He could feel his pursuer coming closer, nearing him and closing the gap between them. He turned to look over his shoulder, that wide, welcoming grin full of white teeth gleamed in the dark. Claws hung heavy at her sides, twin fists that did not belong to Zagreus, that he had once stolen.

He spun around and tried to double his speed, but only slowed. 

“Blood and darkness,” he whimpered. “Please no. Not like this no.” 

His feet skittered across the floor, slipping and sliding and unable to move forward. It was as if his body were put into slow motion while the rest of the world spun around him. 

He could feel breath like a spring breeze on the back of his neck. 

“Zagreus,” she whispered in his ear. 

A tight hand wrapped around his wrist and dragged Zagreus away. He found his footing again, feet igniting with their regular fire, and he rushed through an open hall. A straight unending shot that he practically flew through, led on by his savior. 

The glowing white figure in front of him flew through the air, moving at an inhuman speed. Wind whipped by them, the once featureless terrain had begun to form. Lumps of hills and trees jut out like dark spires and blurred together as they flew past. A moon hung low in the sky, as if a solid hole had been bored through the heavens and a light illuminated through. It shone on nothing, revealed nothing, only a beacon in the dark. 

Zagreus’ savior came to an abrupt stop and Zagreus stopped with him. He turned in place, his head whipping back and forth, and Zagreus finally recognized Hypnos. 

Gold eyes wide open in a way that Zagreus had never seen before, urgent and afraid as he scanned the horizon. Hand tight around Zagreus’ wrist. Before Zagreus could get a word out, Hypnos shot off like a bullet, turning them both in a sharp turn. 

Behind them, the pursuer screamed. Zagreus’ heart twisted. He almost stopped, almost went back to help. She needed help. He had to help her. 

Hypnos’ grip on his wrist tightened and his speed doubled. 

A half wall, crumbling from ruin, jutted up from the ground. Hypnos huddled behind it, pushing Zagreus’ back to the wall, and crowding him. He wrapped a long fingered hand around Zagreus’ mouth and placed a finger to his own. 

“Shhh,” he hissed, big golden eyes staring off into the darkness. 

There was a perfect silence. A stillness where everything froze. Hypnos before him was a statue. The landscape dropped out, leaving only that crumbling, graffitied wall. The grass beneath his feet, the dirt under his fists, the broken column that just lay out of range. Not even Zagreus’ heart beat.

Nothing moved. 

There was a crunch of a foot falling into snow. Then another heavy step. Then another. 

“Zagreus,” she sang again. “Come home Zagreus.” 

Zagreus’ heart remembered itself and leapt into double time. He whimpered, the will to run jolting through his system, and he wriggled to get up. Hypnos pressed him down, keeping only that hand on his mouth, and it was enough to pin Zagreus in place. His head stock still against the wall while his body squirmed. He groaned against the hand, whimpered, pleaded with Hypnos to let him go, but Hypnos only stared at the oncoming monster. 

Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, rounded the corner. She hunched forward like a creature, her body weighed down by the Twin Fists. A weapon that had once belonged to her mother and she wielded with deadly precision and fury. A smile as sweet as summertime gashed across her face, eyes obscured and bloody. A tattered red cloak dragged from her back and across the snowy grass, stolen from her husband’s chambers. Flakes of snow wafted down and settled on her shoulders. 

“Zagreus,” she said, the name coming out in a throaty double tone. The pitch of her love and her anger singing together as one, laced with the snarl of a beast. 

She took another heavy step, her back turned to them and plodding away. 

“Zagreus,” she called again. “Come home to me my love.” 

Persephone’s arms slunk low, stretched out, and dragged blood and fire on the earth behind her. She took another turn, slipping between the trees. For a second, Zagreus could see her profile clear as day and he hoped she couldn’t see them in turn. 

She disappeared into the forest. 

Zagreus’ chest pumped as he tried to breathe around Hypnos’ hand. He whined on every breath, not looking away from where his mother disappeared, until Hypnos cupped his cheek and turned his head. One by one, Hypnos peeled his fingers from Zagreus’ face. 

“Why?” he asked. 

“She’s. . .,” Zagreus whimpered. “She’s trying to kill me.” 

“Why?” Hypnos asked again. Mouth turned in a frown and brows pinched high. The concern was foreign on him. 

It didn’t suit him. 

Hypnos should never frown. 

“She. . . she has to,” Zagreus said. “She’s trying to kill me . . . just like–” 

He couldn't tell Hypnos. There was some rule and it physically stopped Hades in his throat. **[REDACTED]** the list always read. Hypnos mustn’t know. 

“Why can’t you stop her?” Hypnos asked. 

Zagreus hung his head. He hiccuped a small sob, the whole thing raking his body. His limbs felt weaker, rounder, smaller. He was too soft, too tiny, too ineffectual. 

“She’s my mother,” he said in a small voice. 

Zagreus curled his knees to his chest and hid his face in them. The tears came out thick and large and if he kept it up he might drown the world. A puddle began to form and froze in the snow. 

“Zagreus!” the monster shouted, sliding out from between the trees. Persephone stared at him with wild and manic eyes, missing and bloody, her arms wide and her stance matching. The fists of Malphon curled tight and sharp and deadly and meant for Zagreus. 

She laughed maniacally and charged, moving fast and coming on large. 

Zagreus screamed. 

Hypnos did not. 

Instead, he whirled in place, ignoring the oncoming threat, and wrapped both hands over Zagreus’ eyes. His sight was cut off, but he could still see his mother charging at them, still knew she was coming. He saw her face large and dominating his vision, smile skewed and filled with too many teeth, ready to rend Hypnos apart. 

A sensation like static, like pins pricking inside his brain, scrambled his mind. It stung, raking against his skull as the inside of his mind pulled to the forefront of his face. Swirling like a whirlpool and being dragged through his nose. The sounds of the world muted as cotton was stuffed into his ears. His ears popped as he was pushed up and up at an alarming speed through the atmosphere. 

Somewhere, Hypnos screamed. 

Zagreus sat up in bed with a start. 

“Mother!” he shouted into the quiet of his room. 

His heart raced and a thin film of sweat sheeted his body. He gripped his blanket between two fists and tried to catch his breath. 

A bruised sensation ached between his eyes, as if someone had punched him in the bridge of his nose, as if he had breathed in water and rushed through his sinuses. He rubbed at it, trying to quell the itch, when the swirling anxiety picked back up again. 

“Mother,” he hissed and threw off his blankets. 

He ran out of bed, his feet slapping the floors to the Great Hall and his steps echoing off the walls. He dashed through the empty halls into the West Wing, past Achilles’ mirror, past the statues and art, all the way to his parents' chambers. 

Where he stopped. 

Never had Zagreus come running to his father in the middle of the night. Not when he had nightmares, not when he couldn’t sleep. Hades had proven himself an unreliable man for such things. Standing as a fully grown man at his parents’ door because he had a bad dream, Zagreus felt stupid. 

Instead of bursting in, Zagreus gently nudged the door open and peered into the dark of their room. 

By the firelight, Zagreus could make out the figures on the bed. Hades, large and great, rolled over on his side, one arm draped over the small figure of his wife. Persephone curled into her husband’s warmth. The simple, pure woman with an unblemished face and unstained hands. 

His mother. As he knew her to be. 

With a sigh of relief, Zagreus gently closed the door again. His heart rate slowed down back to a normal pace and the adrenaline sloughed from his body. He stood in the hall, holding onto the handle of his parents’ chambers, one hand to his heart. 

A flash of movement caught his eye. A shadow shifting in the dark empty halls. Zagreus whipped his head to look, to see who could have been there. 

But there was nothing. 

____

Hypnos was awake.

It wasn't unheard of, it was just rare to see the god of sleep upright and conscious. He lazily spoke to a shade that was in the midst of a sprawling tale of woe, explaining their death. Hypnos may or may not have been enraptured, it was difficult to tell. He wore a pleasant smile and blinked slowly. Despite being wide awake, he looked more like he was sleeping with his eyes open. 

He spun his pen lazily in the air, not quite having the control he should over it. It would fly from his fingers, but only float away until it wafted gently back to his hand. His fingers fumbled with the action, but his attention was solely on the shade. 

Zagreus stood at the base of the pool steps, the water up to his shins, and watched Hypnos blink in and out of sleep. Something about the whole scene was strange to Zagreus, like looking at a dog on its hind legs. 

Hypnos should be asleep. 

Gold eyes slid slow to glance at the pool. They spared Zagreus a quick glance before doubling back. Hypnos sat up a little straighter, his head coming up from where it rested in his hand. Zagreus couldn’t quite tell, but he thought Hypnos’ sleepy smile broadened at the sight of him. 

A small piece of Zagreus hoped that was the case. 

He climbed out of the Pool of Styx, not bothering with the towels, and beelined to Hypnos’ chaise. He had turned his attention back to the shade and was busy writing down some of the shade’s story into his notes. 

Zagreus went to say hi. 

“Please wait your turn sir,” Hypnos said, trying very hard not to laugh. 

“Oh. Okay,” Zagreus said and took his spot at the back of the line. 

He stood behind the meandering, slow moving queue that led up to Hypnos’ welcome wagon. Hypnos did not spare Zagreus another glance, instead giving his full attention to the work in front of him. One by one, he checked in the dead, welcoming them to their new home, and giving them guidance of where to go next. 

Zagreus had never seen Hypnos so efficient. He was thankful for it when it was his time to stand in front of Hypnos, neck craned to look up at him as he so often did. 

“Those witches caught you in their circle again, huh?” Hypnos said, not looking up from his form, but he seemed to be holding back laughter. “Maybe if you snuck in wearing a black hat they won’t notice.” 

“Oh I think they would,” Zagreus said leaning in. “Didn’t you say you wanted to join them one day?” 

“Too much work,” Hypnos yawned. “And I’m not ready to take on that student debt just to learn a little magic.” 

Hypnos leaned into his fist, finally giving Zagreus the full force of his attention. Butterflies squirmed in Zagreus’ stomach. 

“You should ask Daddy if he’ll pay for your magic school,” Hypnos said. 

“Only if you join me,” Zagreus said. 

That earned him a smile. Maybe even a little blush. Zagreus would keep talking forever for rewards like that. 

There had been an idea that had been rolling around in Zagreus’ mind, a notion. A little inkling of a thought that he hadn’t really explored. 

He didn’t want to tell Hypnos he’d dreamed about him again, but he had a feeling Hypnos already knew. 

“Hey Hypnos,” Zagreus said. “Are you able to see people’s dreams?” 

Cool as a cucumber and still as unruffled waters, Hypnos smiled. 

“I’m the god of sleep Zagreus,” was all he said and gave away no information. 

Zagreus pressed his lips into a thin line, ignoring the way Hypnos didn’t answer his question. He recalled the way Hypnos had dragged him away from the imminent danger, had pulled him from the freeze. He remembered the way Hypnos had covered his eyes and physically ripped him from the nightmare. 

Had that really been Hypnos? Or had that just been Zagreus’ mind? 

“Thank you,” Zagreus said anyways. 

“For what?” Hypnos said with a tilt of his head. 

“For,” Zagreus said and paused. He grinned. “For being you.” 

Hypnos’ eyes widened and he sat up, his chin once again hovering inches from his palm. Something fragile and genuine flitted across his face before hidden once again by a mask of exhaustion. 

“See you later,” Zagreus said with a wave and took off before Hypnos could say anything. 

____

Zagreus was making excellent time. 

Tartarus was a breeze and he was slaying his way through Asphodel. A Wave Maker charged up, a Gorgon shot her stone, and Zagreus danced between them like it was nothing. He worked as if it were routine, which at that point it was. As simple as washing his face in the morning. Get up, go to work, slay some wretches. 

Stygius slid through flesh like paper. Foe’s ashes scattered like confetti in the wind. Zagreus could barely feel his body move as he slid from one fight to the next, shifting like a dancer as the world spun around him in the fray. 

With the last Dracon head down, Zagreus enjoyed a moment's peace. 

The burbling of lava. The raised platforms of volcanic rock. The withered trees that had been burnt to skeletal remains and the fallen crumbling stone of once proud structures. An oppressive wind blew through his hair and he was almost tempted to lay down. 

But no, he was making good time and he would keep making good time. 

With a shot of adrenaline and determination, Zagreus hop skipped to the next raft to take him to the next plane. 

He felt the thrum of Eurydice’s blessings course through his body, the next boons from his relatives on Olympus would be especially useful. Although he couldn’t quite remember seeing Eurydice’s face. At the thought of it, her likeness traversed through his memory and her voice was on the wind. 

“Hey hon!” she called out from her hovel, receded into the wall. 

“Hi Eurydice!” Zagreus waved back as he floated on by. 

The cavern walls closed in around Zagreus in a moment of claustrophobia as the light from Eurydice’s home disappeared. Zagreus had to duck to get under them and the bow of the raft scraped along the low ceiling. Soon he would come across Lernie. More routine, it was just the way in which he traversed the underworld. 

He stepped off the raft and immediately wanted it to be over. The sound of rumbling and the roar of the bone hydra shook the platforms. The fight started well before the hydra could move, Zagreus immediately sliding into action. Stygius swung through the air, beating against bone and slicing through it like a knife through warm butter. Extra heads snapped at his heels, tiny and ineffectual as small rodents. His main focus being Lernie, large and in charge. 

A tingling irritation of just wanting the fight to be over ran over him and Zagreus felt a little bad about it. He liked Lernie, Lernie was a good company, but he simply wanted to move onto the next part of his routine. 

To keep making good time. 

One more harsh swing of his blade and the world sparkled with a blinding light. When it had faded, he was in Elysium and a Brightsword who had failed to block his blow falling in battle. The fight with Lernie having come to an abrupt end.

Zagreus was making _excellent_ time. He’d be through Elysium and through the Temple in no time. He’d meet his father on the battlegrounds and take him down as he had done so many times before. He would step out into the mortal world and maybe this time he’d actually get to enjoy it for more than a few seconds. 

Hermes would congratulate him on a job well done. The notion of having bested himself, of being the best he could be, the top of his game, fueled Zagreus with a sense of pride. 

This was the best Zagreus had ever been. 

A butterfly pierced through his chest, burrowing inside his back and popping out the other side. Zagreus felt the familiar warmth of blood curdling up his throat, the sensation that he had no more left to give. He hadn’t been paying attention to his resources and had not noticed when they had been depleted.There was nothing left in Zagreus. 

He had fallen. 

Gravity’s pull became too great and Zagreus fell. The brilliant greens of Elysium blurred together, neon pinks filling his vision as a swarm of butterflies descended upon him. There was no terror in it, Zagreus had gone through this before. 

Only routine. 

Bloody water burbled and bubbled around Zagreus as he floated. For just a moment, he was unsure which way had been up. Zagreus spun his body around, swimming like a fish in the water, until he caught the sight of the House lights. There was no strain on his lungs, no struggle. He could have stayed in the pool for hours. 

There was one part of his routine he was anxious to get to. 

With a single great kick of his legs, Zagreus rocketed up through the water. The swim up seemed to take longer, the surface moving further and further away from Zagreus as he struggled, but in a rush, the pool filled with light and the breathing world came roaring into Zagreus’ ears. 

He burst through the water with a deep gasp of air. 

Zagreus’ breath bounced off the walls and water, creating strange distorting echoes. More hollow and tinny than normal. Zagreus climbed up out of the pool, wiping the water from his hair and looked around. 

The House was empty. No music from the foyer, no chatter from the lounge, no scribble of pens over paper from the Administrative Chamber. Hades’ throne was empty, the queue of shades had disappeared. The lights were on, but the House was just . . . empty. 

Save for one. 

Hypnos floated over his chaise, elbows on his knees and quilt draped over his shoulders like a great cape. His chin was nestled in his hands and he smiled sweetly at the sight of Zagreus emerging from the pool. He waved, his hand flopping back and forth in the air. 

The butterflies that had been so lethal just moments before transformed into pure joy. They fluttered under Zagreus’ skin and urged him forward. 

“Hello Zagreus,” Hypnos said, his voice lilting like a song. “Died again then?” 

“Sure seems that way,” Zagreus said. 

“Sure seems like you’re the master of dying.” Hypnos’ head turned slowly to follow Zagreus and he came to stand in front of him. “Are you sure you’re not the god of dying?” 

“Isn’t that Thanatos?” Zagreus asked. 

“He’s the god of death, Hades is the god of the dead.” Hypnos leaned forward, his legs coming to dangle limply just off the ground, his face nearing Zagreus’ own. “You’re the god of dying. You can be your own domain. Your own boss. Freelance dying over and over again.” 

“If only,” Zagreus laughed, eyes darting to the empty throne. 

“What got you this time?” Hypnos asked, tilting his head in his hands. 

“Don’t you know these things?” Zagreus asked. 

Hypnos’ little smile widened, the slightest hint of teeth. His eyelids were drooped from sleep, but more so as he looked down at Zagreus. They shifted as his body did, as he lowered to literally bring himself to Zagreus’ level. 

“Soul Catcher,” Zagreus said with confidence, but found he couldn’t actually recall. The memory of his own death slipping from his mind like sand between his fingers. He frowned down at the ground. “I think.” 

“You looked really good out there,” Hypnos said. “You were doing really well. Is it always that easy for you?” 

“You were watching?” 

Again another smile. Again another tilt of his head. Again no answer. 

“Thats kind of mean, don't you think?” Zagreus chided. 

Hypnos’ smile fell and his eyes opened a little wider, but no less sleepy. 

“I don’t intend to be cruel,” Hypnos said. “I’m just. . . curious I guess?” 

“No worries,” Zagreus laughed. He lowered his eyes and scuffed one fiery foot against the floor, leaving and ashen smear on the marble. “You’re not cruel. You’re kind and happy and only see the best in people.” 

He looked back up into golden eyes that glittered in the flame light. They shone like fresh coins, new and shiny, an iridescent gleam that refracted rainbows. Hypnos’ shoulders hiked up, one corner of the quilt falling to show bare skin, and his skin took on a golden tint from a deep flush. That same strange smile that he always wore, like a joke that he was perpetually laughing to, flustered on his face. He tried to keep wearing it, but it was hard to keep up. 

“How can you say things like that so easy?” he asked. 

Zagreus reached out and plucked one of Hypnos’ hands, just a few fingers, and drew it away from his face. He used it, like pulling a kite from the sky, gently guiding Hypnos near. 

The same confidence Zagreus had out on the field swelled within him. There was an unspoken, unwritten rule, that he could do something like this. Any apprehension or nerves or overwhelming excitement he held before had suddenly been washed away like swirls written in sandy shores. This was okay. He could draw Hypnos near, bring him closer. 

“You know why,” Zagreus said. 

Hypnos’ eyes dropped, looking to Zagreus’ mouth, before flicking back up again. The closer he got, the more focus he tried to hold, the more crossed his eyes became. Zagreus reached up to hold Hypnos’ cheek. It felt like the cool side of a pillow, soft and comforting and ready to coax Zagreus into a peaceful slumber. 

Zagreus leaned in, tilting his head so as to line them up just right. 

“Zagreus?” Hypnos asked, his voice small and so far away. 

Zagreus fought the strain against his eyelids. They didn't want to open, a great weight holding them down. Zagreus darted his eyes back and forth, looking at the black nothing on the back of his eyelids before he could slowly part them. The fuzz of the world around him smeared into a wash of muted color. He blinked a few times, feeling sleep crust along his eyelashes. Zagreus rubbed one eye and propped himself up on his elbow, groaning as he did. 

A dream then. 

It had all been a dream. 

Zagreus’ arm flopped limp at his side and he huffed. His brain slowly caught up with him as the dream fizzled and fuzzed away. Details slipped from his mind, but one thing was clear. 

He had kissed Hypnos. 

He almost kissed Hypnos. 

He almost kissed the dream version of Hypnos. 

Zagreus rubbed at his eye again and wondered what that meant. He wondered how he felt about that. What he feelings were about that very thing that almost happened. Was that something he wanted? Was he embarrassed or ashamed? Was he excited? 

Zagreus brought a sluggish hand up to touch his lips. He still tasted of sleep and the dream was fading fast, but he could remember how Hypnos felt. The heat of his breath against Zagreus’ face. 

Zagreus wanted to flop back into the bed, fall back into the dream, pick right up where he had left off. Run into those hallowed halls and find Hypnos still there, still waiting for him. Run right up to him and pull him close. 

With a groan, Zagreus flopped back onto his pillow, too awake to fall back asleep. He glared into his room and the real world with a disastrous stark thought in his mind. 

He’d have to do _all that work_ again. 

____

The House Contractor had recently put in a second entrance to the Lounge. Zagreus had thought it would be a great way to sneak past the prying eyes of his father, to slip from the pool directly to the comfort of his room where maybe he could idle at a board game or fail to pluck at his lyre. 

He found another use for the second entrance. 

Zagreus stood just behind the corner and peered out into the Great Hall. His fingers gripped the corner and his head just poked out from behind the frame. He glared out into the hall. 

The line of shades was more of a small mob, shifting in and out in a single mass without any rhyme or reason. There was no sense of a queue and no mandate for order. They waited, as if holding tickets and listening for their number to be called. 

The one who would call it was fast asleep. 

Curled up on his side, floating higher and higher into the air, like a wayward balloon without any tether to the world. Hypnos’ soft snores had picked up and echoed off the halls. He was wrapped tight in the comfort of his quilt, the ends dangling from his body like a cape. 

Zagreus’ eyes narrowed. 

He wanted to tell Hypnos, he wanted to let him know these new feelings that had laid dormant but were now crystalized and stark. He wanted to march up to Hypnos and say _’I saw you in a dream and we kissed’_ but Zagreus had no idea where to start. 

Where it had been simple, effortless, in a dream, it was proving to be difficult in the waking world. Where there had been no constrictions, no stipulations, no judgement, there were eyes on Zagreus, laughter in the back of his mind. 

The Hypnos of his dreams was soft with blurry edges, ethereal and effortless. In reality, he was much of the same. His very essence took on a quality of surreal otherworldliness, but there was something solid, grounded, physical. Long fingers that Zagreus already knew were soft, unworked, and gentle. He knew, in the back of his mind, just how they would feel entwined with his own. A soft pliant body that Zagreus wanted to wrap his arms around, pull in close. A hug that would feel like falling asleep. 

They swirled around in his mind in a haze, confusing him greater, building up more and more expectations and walls. Where Zagreus could slay hundreds of thousands of wretches, could face down the god of the dead and defy him, this little spiff of a cloud in human form froze him greater than anything ever could. It scared him to the depth of his core. 

It kept him hidden inside the lounge. 

Another soft snore and Hypnos lowered, almost coming to a rest atop the chaise. Curly hair brushed against plush pillows, pooling for just a second before he bobbed back into the air again. 

Zagreus’ eyes narrowed and his lips pursed into a tight frown. 

There was the other end of it. 

Zagreus was _pretty sure_ that Hypnos already knew. 

Hypnos wasn’t particularly tricky, he wasn’t the kind to deceive. In fact, he was probably one of the most brutally honest people that Zagreus knew. To a fault. 

He was pretty sure Hypnos was entering his dreams. 

Zagreus drummed his fingers on the wall and glared down his quarry. This deamon who was _literally_ haunting him. 

The feather quill dipped and tickled the end of Hypnos’ nose. He snorted once, his whole body convulsing in a quiet little jerk, and his eyes blinked open. Slowly he unfurled, his long lanky body taking its full shape as he stretched and a great yawn roared muted from an open maw. He scratched at the back of his neck, blinking the sleep from his eyes and smacking his lips. 

Eventually, he saw Zagreus. 

For that split second, Hypnos’ glowing eyes gazed across the hall and found Zagreus in his ‘hiding place.’ His eyes opened a little wider, the splash of gold flushed over his cheeks, his shoulders slowly raised. A jolt of energy shot through Zagreus and he ducked around the corner, ignoring the eyes of the other shades and Meg in the lounge who watched him curiously, but did not care enough to ask. 

Jaw clamped shut and hand to his chest, Zagreus tried to push aside the fear. He didn’t know what there was to be afraid of, it was silly to let Hypnos have this much power over him. 

And yet. . . 

Wretches were routine. Hades was par. 

Hypnos and how he felt in return was unknown. 

And the unknown was to be feared. 

Zagreus slowly peeked around the corner again, making sure to keep most of his face hidden this time, just to look. Hypnos was hunched over his parchment, asking the current shade how they ended up in their own personal afterlife. His face practically glowed with the golden flush, his normal broad, too humored smile shook with apprehension. A nervous laughter laced under every word. 

Zagreus was _very_ sure that Hypnos had been in his dream. 

Zagreus snuck back around the corner and crossed the lounge to head back to his room, knowing that he would have to tell Hypnos, but fretting on how. 

____

The cool rush of deep waters hugged Zagreus like a crushing blanket. At those depths, the river Styx had a pressure that could pop his head like a grape, but Zagreus remained wholly unaffected. Instead he relished in its cool swirl, feeling the current run her fingers through his hair. A tickle kissed the small hairs on the back of his neck, a soothing caress that reminded him of his mother. The soft sand at the bed of Styx curved around him, cupping him in a perfect seat. 

He could rest for hours. 

A deep river trench created an underwater river that snaked through the gash in the bed. Zagreus sat at the river side, legs crossed, fishing pole in hand. The line disappeared into the bleak, drifting like a broken strand in the wind. 

He was calm. Present. Happy in his lane. Aware of his surroundings and his mind. 

He was lucid. 

He knew he was dreaming. 

Zagreus breathed out a slew of bubbles that blubbered up his face like a curtain. He breathed in again, the water filling up his lungs, and knew he wouldn’t drown. No panic, no anxiety, the simple pure joy of fishing at the bottom of the river Styx. 

A soft flutter pushed through the water behind him, muted from the expanse of water between him and the newcomer. They didn’t announce themselves, but two bare feet landed on the packed earth next to Zagreus and he knew exactly who it was. 

“Hi Hypnos,” he said, clear as a bell, not looking away from his line. He waited for a pull that would never come. 

Hypnos took a seat next Zagreus, folding his legs and holding onto his ankles, hunched over in his usual terrible posture. His quilt floated around him without gravity and Zagreus wondered if it was the water or if it was just its nature. 

“Are you really here?” Zagreus asked. 

“Of course I’m here,” Hypnos said. “Would you be able to see me if I wasn’t?” 

“I mean, are you just a figment of my mind,” Zagreus said. “Or is it _you_ you?” 

Hypnos leaned into his hand, long fingers framing his face, and even through the periphery of his gaze, Zagreus could see the long smile split Hypnos’ face. 

“Why do you think you need to ask?” he asked. 

Zagreus turned to finally look Hypnos in the eye. 

“Because you keep deflecting like that,” he said. 

Hypnos only grinned wider. 

“Would it make any difference if it was really me?” he asked.

"Yes." 

In his dreams, there were a few details to Hypnos that made him truly look the part of a god. It was the way he radiated power, a certain glow that haloed him in the water. A sheen of gold that flitted in and out of the corners of his vision as the current wrapped around him. Delicate bubbles clung to his skin and to long pale lashes. He drummed his fingers against his cheek. 

Zagreus worked his frown to the side, trying not to be amused. He failed. 

“Come on,” he said, bubbles flying from his lips. He rose to his feet, the fishing rod immediately gone the second he was done thinking about it. He held out a hand to Hypnos. 

The god of sleep looked from Zagreus’ hand, up to his face, his expression not betraying anything. He took it. 

Zagreus pulled Hypnos up and Hypnos floated as he did, landing delicately on his feet. Zagreus led Hypnos away and almost instantly they were gone from the underwater scene and into a black void. There was no source of light and there were no shadows, but Hypnos’ visage was still clear to the naked eye. 

“Where are we going?” Hypnos asked. 

Zagreus wasn’t sure, just that he knew he wanted to be comfortable, some place where he felt happy and unafraid. 

He stepped out onto the tall grass. It had been some time since he had last seen his mother’s farm. It was growing increasingly hard to leave the underworld without meeting death’s embrace once more, but in his dreams it still was as perfect as he remembered. More so. The unidentifiable vegetation that grew around the property like a flora wall. The neat rows of grown food that Zagreus had never seen before. The mossy roof of her villa and the ivy entwined columns along the river. The sun shone and prickled along Zagreus’ back, just as he remembered. He knew Hypnos could feel it too, if the way he shivered was any indicator. 

“Wow,” Hypnos said in awe. “Wow wow wow.” 

Still leading Hypnos by the hand, Zagreus led him to the well. He nestled down in the grass, pressing his back against the warm stones. He patted the ground next to him, looking up at Hypnos with expectation, until the lanky god took his seat in the dirt. 

“This is my mother’s house,” Zagreus said. “I don’t get up here as often as I like anymore.” 

“I know,” Hypnos said. 

Zagreus gave him a blank questioning look. Hypnos leaned forward and tapped Zagreus’ forehead. 

“Its your dream,” he said. “And I’m in your dream. I know what you know. Cool huh?" 

Hypnos curled his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs, and rested his cheek on his knees. 

"But you can keep talking. I like it when you talk to me.” 

Zagreus hoped this was Hypnos. He hoped Hypnos was sneaking into his dreams at night, taking a peek into his subconscious. He hoped the reason Hypnos spoke openly like this, complimented Zagreus like that, and dropped hints like bombs meant his feelings were the same. 

Regardless whether this Hypnos was real or made up of Zagreus’ mind, he could no longer hold back. 

He reached up and rested his hand on Hypnos’ cheek, cupping the curve of his face. That unwavering grin twitched, breaking under nerves. Hypnos sat up a little straighter, denoting his height. 

“I care for you Hypnos,” Zagreus said. “I care about you.” 

Hypnos’ shoulders tensed. Zagreus could see his hands curl into fists, pulling at the fabric of his robe. Droopy eyes widened, taking in the new information. 

“I have feelings for you,” Zagreus said, leaning in closer. 

“Really?” Hypnos whispered, his voice cracking. 

“Mmhmm,” Zagreus said. He shifted closer, until their shoulders touched, until he could make out the fine details of Hypnos’ eyes, until they blurred together with lack of focus. 

“I mean,” Hypnos said and Zagreus could feel his breath puff on his lips. It tasted like ozone, it tasted like space. “Isn’t that a little–”

That time, when Zagreus managed to press against Hypnos’, he didn’t wake up. He got to enjoy the moment, to enjoy the feel of Hypnos’ soft lips pressing back against his own. He was pliant and plush, as gentle as a down feather pillow and as warm as a nap in the noon day sun. He tasted like dreams, like imagination, and the relief of a full night’s rest. He was the soothe in aching bones when lying down after a long day. 

Hypnos kissed like comfort. 

Zagreus pulled back, to see Hypnos again, to see those golden eyes heavy lidded and his laughing smile shaking with uncertainty. 

“Thats not how–”

Zagreus leaned in for another pass, shutting Hypnos up before he could argue otherwise. Zagreus opened his mouth, just a little, just enough to lick at Hypnos’ lip, to coax the sleepy god to move with him. Lazy languid motions, like counting back from 100 and not making it past 99. Just as Hypnos moved, as he glided from one motion to the next. 

“Zagreus–,” Hypnos whined between kisses.

Zagreus gripped the side of Hypnos’ face, tilted his head to get better purchase. Hypnos’ tongue moved against his own, a question, a confusion still. Tentative and meek. Zagreus worked to coax some confidence in him, to stop questioning Zagreus and how he felt. Zagreus slid his hand to tangle into Hypnos’ curls, subdued and fleece, a cloud to slip his fingers into. 

One more gentle pass and with a soft wet sound, he parted. 

He held Hypnos’ face in his hands, his cheeks smooshing under Zagreus’ hands, mouth hanging open and wearing a slight shine from the kiss, looking half a step into sleep already. The tension in his body let out and he slumped his weight into Zagreus’ hands. 

“I like you,” Zagreus said, making his point with finality. “Do you feel the same? About me?” 

Hypnos’ eyes blinked, looking over Zagreus’ face. He sighed, a hum on the wind, and slid forward again. Long thin arms slid up over Zagreus’ shoulders, draping his weight as he leaned forward. Bonelessly, he leaned against Zagreus, letting his lips fall to meet again in another kiss. Still slow, still sweet, still soft, but gone was the apprehension. Gone was the nerves. Gone was the questions. 

Zagreus could feel his control over his dream slipping. The world around him transformed into a swirl of color, fading to muted and mushing together until there was nothing. He could still feel the weight of the well’s stone against his body, but he knew if he opened his eyes, it too would be gone. 

He kept his eyes shut and traveled his hands around a slim waist. The weight and heat of Hypnos’ quilt pressed against the back of his hands. He hefted the too light body, pulling Hypnos flush against him. 

He had no answer, no response from the man in his arms, but he knew that if he stopped, if he questioned it, the dream would end. 

Zagreus kissed Hypnos deeper and stayed in that dream for as long as possible. 

____

Zagreus came stomping out of the pool, water dripping from him in cascades and he left a trail behind him on the tiled likeness of his father’s face, but he didn’t care. The run had been good, he had made it all the way to the end, it was almost his best time yet, but _he did not care_.

He was on the war path. 

He had spent the entirety of the last run with one thing on his mind. Carefully going over the words he would say, over and over again, until he got it just right. 

He marched through the line of shades that stumbled to part before he could walk right through them. Hypnos was asleep, sitting up in the air, one foot folded over the other. His head rested in his hand and his cheek was pushed up as he slid down his palm. He snored softly as Zagreus marched up to him. 

Zagreus came to a stop and crossed his arms across his chest. He glared at the sleeping god and cleared his throat. Hypnos breathed in sharply and his eyes opened one at a time. Before he could register the world around him, he stretched, long limbs reaching out in different directions and unfurling to his full height. At the apex, they quivered and Hypnos let out a tiny squeak. 

It was not adorable. No, not even a little. Not in the tiniest bit. Not adorable. 

Hypnos came down from his stretch and curled back into his normal position, a slow smile spreading across his face when he saw who was in front of him. 

“Hi there Zagreus,” he said, leaning back into his palm and sliding until he found just the right awkward position to hold himself up. 

“Hi,” Zagreus said, dropping the word like a brick. 

Hypnos’ eyes slid like a slug over to his form and he inspected the preternatural report of Zagreus’ death. 

“Says here you died of natural causes again,” he said. “But seems to me that if you keep dying by natural causes there isn’t anything natural about it–” 

“You haven’t answered my question,” Zagreus said, the words equally as heavy as the first. 

Hypnos tilted his head the other way, a mask of innocence that Zagreus saw right through. 

“And what question would that be?” he asked. 

Zagreus’ hackles raised and he tightened the cross in his arms, his mouth pressing together in a full on pout. 

"Any of them!" he said. “But you know _which one._ Don’t play stupid." 

“Oh I don’t _play_ stupid,” Hypnos said. 

Zagreus opened his mouth to reply to that, found that all those words he had carefully curated were suddenly gone, washed away by the god who seemed to have the power to erase all thoughts of his mind. He clicked his mouth shut again and Hypnos grinned. 

“This isn’t over,” he said pointing a stern finger at Hypnos. 

“I sure hope not,” Hypnos laughed. 

Zagreus gave Hypnos one last glare, huffed once, and walked away, leaving behind embers as he did. 

“Sweet dreams Zagreus!” Hypnos called behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> I just like writing dreams
> 
> Twitter: [OhNo_Hello](https://twitter.com/OhNo_Hello)  
> Tumblr: [ScrumpyLikesThings](https://scrumpylikesthings.tumblr.com/)


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